Device and Method of Securing Property Inside a Laundry Machine

ABSTRACT

An apparatus including a hook that connects to the inside lip of a laundry machine, a mechanical connection that connects to said hook, a stopper connected to the mechanical link that limits the motion of the laundry machine&#39;s door in order to secure property inside the laundry machine, and a lock to engage and disengage the mechanical connection.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

I hereby claim benefit under Title 35, United States Code, Section 119(e) of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/372,049 filed Aug. 8, 2016. The 62/372,049 application is currently pending. The 62/372,049 application is hereby incorporated by reference into this application.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a device and method to secure property inside a laundry machine with a removable lock.

2. Description of the Related Art

Few laundry machines comprise of a mechanism to secure the property inside the machine against theft, tampering, vandalism, arson, etc. The laundry machine locks that do exist all require that the lock be permanently attached to the machine.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, there is disclosed an apparatus including a hook that connects to the inside lip of a laundry machine, a mechanical connector to connect to the hook, a lock to engage and disengage the mechanical connection, and a stopper connected to the mechanical connection and situated on the outside of the laundry machine. The hook, mechanical connection, and stopper limit the motion of the laundry machine's door in order to secure property inside the laundry machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the invention secured to a laundry machine;

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the embodiment of the invention as show in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 as viewed from the top of the laundry machine looking down with the horizontal plane of the cross-section in the middle of the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates the same cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 but with the laundry machine's door at its limit of motion due to the embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As used in this application, the following words or phrases have the meanings specified.

The term laundry machine's opening is defined to be the opening that is covered by the laundry machine's door when the door is closed. Clothes enter and exit the laundry machine through the laundry machine's opening.

The term inside lip as it relates to a laundry machine is defined to be the edge of the laundry machine's opening.

The term mechanical connector or mechanical connection is defined to be a strap, rope, wire, plate, bracket, clamp or similar device that when connected to two objects limits the maximum distance those objects can be from one another.

The term stopper refers to a three-dimensional object which stops the motion of a laundry machines door due to it having a wide cross-sectional area and it being rigid.

The invention allows a user to secure their property inside a laundry machine. This decreases the chance that a user's property would be tampered with especially when the user is out of sight of the laundry machine. The invention is also useful in that it allows a user to easily install and remove the device without having to modify the laundry machine. This allows a user to own and use an embodiment of the invention while not necessarily having to own the laundry machine.

The invention works by limiting the motion of the door 6 to a laundry machine 5. This limitation makes removing property from the machine difficult without unlocking the invention. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show one embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3. shows a horizontal cross sectional of this embodiment as viewed from the top looking down. This embodiment works best when placed in the gap of the door 6 opposite the door's hinge 7. This embodiment limits the motion of the laundry machine's door 6 by use of a hook 13, a thin flexible strap 9, a cam buckle 12, and a stopper 8. The cam buckle in this embodiment of the invention is that of U.S. D274,861. The stopper in this embodiment of the invention is a disk. The hook hooks onto the inside lip of the laundry machine. The flexible strap 9 mechanically connects the hook 13 and the cam buckle 12 by running in the thin gap under the laundry machine's door 6 and through a slot in the stopper 8. The cam-buckle 12 sits inside of the stopper 8. FIG. 4 shows the laundry machine's door 6 at the limit of its motion. Notice the stopper 8 prevents the door 6 from opening any further.

In this embodiment, the locking mechanism is composed of a cam-buckle 12, a cover 10, and a padlock 11. The cam-buckle 12 allows the strap 9 to be tightened but only released when a button on the buckle is depressed. The cover 10 controls when the button is exposed. To unlock this embodiment, the user removes the padlock 11 allowing the cover 10 to expose the button on the cam buckle 12. The user can then push the button to release the strap 9 and pull the embodiment away from the laundry machine 5. Once the embodiment is removed, the laundry machine's door 6 can be opened and the user can retrieve their property inside the laundry machine 5. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: a hook for attaching to the inside lip of a laundry machine, a mechanical connector attached to the hook, a stopper that when attached to the mechanical connector limit's the motion of the laundry machines door so that the property inside is secured, a locking mechanism to engage and disengage the mechanical connection between the hook and the stopper.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the mechanical connection is comprised of a flexible material.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the mechanical connection is rigid.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism is inside of the three-dimensional object.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism is attached to the three-dimensional object.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism is attached to the mechanical connector.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism comprises an electronic element.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism is mechanical.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein the laundry machine is either front-loading or top loading.
 10. A method of securing property inside a laundry machine comprising: Using the inside lip of the laundry machines as an anchoring point to which to attach a hook, securing a mechanical connector between said hook and a stopper such that the stopper limits the motion of the laundry machine's door and thus secures the property inside, and using a locking mechanism to engage and disengage the mechanical connection between the hook and the stopper. 